Sunny's Jeju Travel Guide

If you're heading to Jeju's Aewol area, Jejudang (제주당) is one of those places that earns a stop even if you weren't planning on it. It's a massive bakery café — think 800 pyeong (roughly 2,600 sqft) spread across a basement, first, and second floor — and the sheer scale of it catches you off guard the first time you walk in. Here's everything you need to know before you go. View from the second floor — a tractor, greenery, and a whole lot of space Parking: Big Lot, Still Competitive The parking lot is genuinely large, but Jejudang draws enough visitors that spots still fill up fast — especially on weekends between mid-morning and afternoon. If you want a relaxed visit without circling the lot, aim for right at opening or plan a weekday trip. The lot fills up quickly — popular as it is ☀️ Sunny's Tip Don't give up after scanning the front rows. Make your way toward the back of the lot — there are usuall...

Gwandeokjeong has always been one of those places I drove past every single day without ever actually stopping. I'd wait for the bus right in front of it, wave to friends across the square, take shortcuts around it — and somehow never once walked through the gate. It was so familiar it became invisible. Then I started watching the K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines (폭싹 속았수다), and something clicked. "Wait — I walk past that place all the time. Have I ever actually been inside?" The drama's scenes of old tiled rooftops and wide open courtyards stayed with me. So this time, I finally went in — not to rush through, but to actually look around. And honestly? It was worth the wait. Jinhae-ru — the main gate of Jeju Mokgwana Where Was the Poetry Contest Scene Filmed? If you watched the drama and thought "where on earth is that courtyard?" — you're not alone. The scene where students in school uniforms fill the groun...

The jagged volcanic ridgeline of Hallasan — beautiful from below, humbling up close I've been reading a lot of travel reviews and Reddit threads lately, and one thing keeps coming up — foreign hikers making the same avoidable mistakes on Hallasan, over and over again. Not because they didn't prepare, but because the standard travel sites simply don't mention these things. So here's the honest list. Read this before you go. 1. There Are Zero Shops on the Mountain — Pack Everything 🎒 This one catches people off guard every single time. Hallasan is a strictly protected national park, which means there are absolutely no shops, vending machines, or shelters selling food or water anywhere on the trail. Once you pass the entrance gate, you're on your own. And if you're doing Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa, you're looking at 8 to 9 hours of hiking. The checkpoint shelters have toilets — that's it. No running water, no snack bars, nothing. ...

Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a booking through them, I may earn a small commission that helps keep this blog running — at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Hallasan on a clear morning — the kind of day you want to see on the CCTV before you leave the house So you've decided to hike Hallasan — amazing choice. But now you're staring at a list of trail names you can't quite pronounce, wondering which one is actually right for you, and whether the mountain is even going to be visible when you get there. Don't worry, I've got you. Let me walk you through everything a first-timer needs to know before lacing up those boots. First, a Quick Reality Check About Hallasan 🏔️ Hallasan is 1,947 meters tall — the highest mountain in South Korea. That sounds intimidating, but here's the thing: the trails are incredibly well-maintained, with wooden boardwalks and clearly marked paths the whole way. You don't need to...

The walking trail through Bijarim — green and quiet on a drizzly morning I walked through Bijarim Forest on a drizzly day. The forest felt deeper and quieter than usual — the greens were more vivid, the air smelled of damp earth and leaves, and in the height of summer, there was a scent I didn't expect at all. Here's why a rainy day at Bijarim might actually be the better visit. The entrance trail of Bijarim on a drizzly morning Jeju has no shortage of beautiful forests — Saryeoni Forest Road, Jeolmul Natural Recreation Forest, Gyorae Natural Recreation Forest. But the one I keep coming back to is Bijarim. Located in Pyeongdae-ri, Gujwa-eup, it's home to around 10,000 bija trees (Japanese nutmeg-yew), many of them hundreds of years old. The entire grove is a designated Natural Monument — one of the largest bija tree forests in Korea. It's beautiful on a clear day. But on the drizzly morning I visited, the forest felt differ...